Joan Rivers Has Died at 81

Joan Rivers has died at the age of 81, Reuters reports. The comedian's daughter, Melissa, confirmed the news this afternoon in a statement via Joan Rivers' longtime publicist, Judy Katz:

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17pm surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother.

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Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated.

My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.

Rivers was rushed to the hospital on August 28 when she stopped breathing during vocal chord surgery at a clinic in New York City. Doctors placed her in a medically induced coma, and her family, friends, and fans offered their thoughts and prayers in statements and on social media.

The comedian was a trailblazer in her field, paving the way for fellow funny females like Kathy Griffin, Sarah Silverman, and Roseanne Barr. Famous for her quick wit and unrelenting tongue, the Brooklyn native would give her signature "Can we talk?" before ripping into her friends and enemies alike—no one was off-limits. "Bulletproof. If they ever combed it, they'd find Jimmy Hoffa," she said of Nancy Reagan's hairdo." "Gowns by Helen Keller," was Rivers' take on Queen Elizabeth II's fashion. "Nice looking. Not at all like her stamp. Wears her watch over the glove, though—tacky." "Rihanna confessed to Oprah Winfrey that she still loves Chris Brown. Idiot! Now it's MY turn to slap her," she tweeted, to much controversy.

"I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking," she once said.

But Rivers was never afraid to skewer herself, poking fun at everything from her plastic surgery to her love life for a laugh. And no matter how far she went, she never looked back. "We don't apologize for a joke," she said in an interview with the New York Post in June. "We are comics. We are here to make you laugh. If you don't get it, then don't watch us." Rivers got her big break in 1965, when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She became Carson's "permanent guest host" in 1983 before moving on to Fox to host her own late-night show in 1986. Her career has included numerous stand-up tours, multiple books, and TV gigs, including her E! show, Fashion Police. Her life inspired the 2010 documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which is now available on Netflix.

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Since the news of her passing broke, celebrities have taken to Twitter to express their condolences.

I loved Joan Rivers. A trailblazing funny lady. Have fun up there. #RIPJoan